On November 17, David Fincher’s most recent movie, The Killer (I wonder what it’s about?), will be released to theatres. It has already received much attention at the New York Film Festival and received a three-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival, where the first showing debuted.

Whenever you are trying to get good at doing anything, it is always wise to study the masters, and in this case, a director who I believe is a master Filmmaker is David Fincher. His style is so distinct. If you have ever seen one of his movies, and someone showed you a still from any one of his scenes over his thirty-year professional career, you would immediately recognize that it’s his film.

Fincher is considered to be one of the best-known directors in Hollywood because of movies like Se7en, Fight Club, and The Social Network. He has even had a hand in Netflix television series, starting with House of Cards and The Manhunter most recently.

Out of all that I have learned from watching interviews and movies I have seen with this director, here are three things that I have learned about making films.

1.) Your Camera Needs to Be Relentless

Most great filmmakers are well-known for effectively executing long tracking shots, whether that be Martin Scorcese, Quentin Tarantino, or Paul Thomas Anderson. They are often used to get a character from point A to point B without having to use as many cuts or to draw interest to the location; however, Fincher uses this in an entirely different manner.

When Fincher uses his tracking shot, the camera almost stalks the subject, like a predator patiently waiting for the right moment to attack its prey. Whenever and However an actor moves—the camera follows, leaving no character action or behavior undiscovered.

A perfect example is from a scene from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo where Mikael is running through woods, trying to evade an unidentified sniper, the serial killer he’s been looking for. Every shot follows Mikael perfectly, and considering that most of the pans (left and right), tilts (up and down), and other movements were executed so smoothly on not a crane, not a jib, but a tripod is nothing short of incredible. Most importantly though, the cuts are seamless and contribute so much to immersing the audience in the film.

What I learned primarily from this is that you don’t need thousands of dollars of equipment to execute a good sequence: you just need to be creative with how you use your tilt and pan movements.

2.) Use Blocking and Frame Composition to Show Power Dynamics.

A perfect example of this is from when Nick and Amy Dunne first meet in Gone Girl. Nick and Amy are standing side by side at the beginning of the scene, making fun of some characters at the party. For most of this scene, they each take up an equal amount of the frame, showing that they each have an equal amount of power in the relationship. However, as the conversation goes on, the actors walk across the room trying to figure each other out flirtatiously; however, we can start to see that Amy has gained control of the conversation through the questions she chooses to ask Nick.

By the end of the scene, She is leaning against the wall and Nick is standing in front of her. In a position like this, you would think that Nick would take up more space in the frame, showing that he has more power in the relationship, but instead, Amy takes up the most space, which actually makes more sense as the story goes along.

In other words, how you arrange actors through blocking and framing implicitly describes aspects of character relationships, especially as they relate to power.

3.) Don’t Rush the Process

Fincher is notorious for taking anywhere from 25 to 60 takes for each shot, making many think that he is a perfectionist. There is some truth to this statement, to some degree, but if you think about it, this action actually helps actors a lot.

If you have ever acted, you realize that it takes time to get used to playing a character, and when you are first being filmed you aren’t usually comfortable. By having so many takes, Fincher not only gives the camera department more attempts at getting the right shots, but it also gives actors more time to experiment while determining their characters’ actions and behaviors.

This doesn’t mean that you should do a million takes, but it is a great reminder that filmmaking is a process and that you have to let your actors try things. You never know what you are missing out on if you stick strictly to the script.

All in all, David Fincher is a fantastic director, and I hope you get the opportunity to sit down and watch some of his fantastic films.

Who are some of your favorite directors right now? Drop a comment and let’s talk.